


The Truth Will Set You Free

by Anonymous



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Bisexual Cisco Ramon, Caring, Cisco Ramon is Vibe, Flirting, Gay, Good Hartley Rathaway, Hartley Rathaway Needs a Hug, Hartley Rathaway is Not Okay, Healing, M/M, Memories, Multi, Mutual Pining, POV Hartley Rathaway, Past Hartley Rathaway/Eobard Thawne | Harrison Wells, Past Relationship(s), Polyamory, Poor Hartley Rathaway, Recovery, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:48:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21654769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: "It was almost painful, watching Cisco and this man who was Dr. Wells, but wasn't Dr. Wells at the same time.It almost hurt like fingernails on chalkboard hurts, the normally annoying noise sounds like a sonic scream to Hartley, piercing through his hearing aids and sending hot thorny tendrils of pain through him.Even though they hadn't had any intimate public shows yet, it was pretty clear what their relationship was. And Hartley hated it.".Hartley Rathaway is having issues coping with his past and the memories caused by being back with Team Flash, and Harry comes up with an idea to help.This takes place sometime during season 4.
Relationships: Cisco Ramon/Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells, Cisco Ramon/Hartley Rathaway/Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells, Hartley Rathaway/Harrison Wells | Eobard Thawne
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40
Collections: Anonymous





	The Truth Will Set You Free

**Author's Note:**

> My first contribution to the Harrsisco tag and it's a potentially controversial one ;) just keep an open mind pleaseee
> 
> So the idea behind this was basically just, LOOK AT HOW HARTLEY AND DR. WELLS LOOKED AT EACH OTHER IN THE CHESS SCENE AND TELL ME THERE WASN'T CHEMISTRY. 
> 
> Basically, Hartley Rathaway has Daddy issues, and I'm not talking about his father.
> 
> Cisco and Harry have already been dating for a while in this story, probably at least a year or two, since end of season 2 anyway. Harry has emotions bc Cisco helped him be happy again. 
> 
> Also this is my first attempt at writing a polyamorous relationship so it might be a tad rough.

It was almost painful, watching Cisco and this man who was Dr. Wells, but wasn't Dr. Wells at the same time.

It almost hurt like fingernails on chalkboard hurts, the normally annoying noise sounds like a sonic scream to Hartley, piercing through his hearing aids and sending hot thorny tendrils of pain through him.

He, the man who looked like Hartley's mentor, and sometimes more, would do little things, walk past Cisco and lightly touch his back or shoulder, smile fondly and roll his eyes whenever Cisco made one of his dumb jokes. They would banter back and forth for hours, and once, Cisco had gotten a bad Vibe, literally, Harry hadn't hesitated to pull Cisco into a hug, whispering something that Hartley could just barely pick up and stroking the man's hair lightly.

Hartley had never been allowed to touch his hair.

Cisco was worse with Harry. He'd lean on him, touch his back, arms, chest, anywhere. If they were sitting beside each other, his hand would usually end up on Harry's thigh. He even did this weird thing where he played with Harry's earlobe once when he thought no one was paying attention. He grinned at Harry like the man had bought him a new car, and he seemed the only one capable, or even willing to calm down Harry when he got mad.

Even though they hadn't had any intimate public shows yet, it was pretty clear what their relationship was. And Hartley hated it.

When Dr. Wells had hired Cisco, Hartley hated him. The kid was smart, funny, looked at the world in a bright light, and he was just happy. But worse, Dr. Wells looked at him like a new puppy he had just bought. Dr. Wells and Hartley's relationship was already so complicated (the late night stress sex made sure of that), that throwing this new kid in that Dr. Wells seemed so fond of felt like a knife to the gut. So Hartley hated him, and he made that clear to both Cisco, and Dr. Wells (that earned him a few reprimanding but not at all unenjoyable scoldings).

And now here was this Not-Dr. Wells, who was him in so many ways, flirting and smiling at Cisco like a lovesick fool.

Hartley wanted to scream and rip out his own heart.

Even now, at two am, they were bickering. They always had something to bicker about. It was giving him a headache that felt like sharp needles going through the base of his skull.

"If you do that, Barry won't-"

"Harry, I've been making the suit this way long before you were around."

"Clearly, it needs upgraded."

"Oh, really, Mr. Know It All? Do you wanna spend four hours manipulating pleather like material under a sewing machine?"

"No but-"

"Yeah, that's what I thought, so zip it. Unless you're gonna make the suit, you don't get input on what goes into it."

"Guys! Please!" Hartley finally had enough, picking up his head to glare at the two.

They went silent, looking at him. He sighed and reached up, pushing his glasses off his nose with his hands as he rubbed at his eyes. God he needed a break. 

"You okay, Hart?" Cisco's voice was soft, concerned.

Hartley hated that too.

"I just need some quiet so I can focus."

The obvious couple exchanged a look.

"Can't you turn your hearing aids off?"

"No, Cisco. Actually I can't. Unless you want me to be in immense, crippling pain," Hartley snapped back, glaring at the younger man.

Harry visible bristled at the heated glare, Cisco barely touched his arm, focus on Hartley.

"We could work on that, give it three settings, like a . . . Like a mute on a TV, only reverse."

Wait what.

"It wouldn't be that difficult to do," Harry inputted.

"It's harder than you think," Hartley muttered back, setting down his screwdriver and standing.

"Where ya going?"

Cisco was watching him warily, with that gaze he gives Harry when he's about to start throwing things.

"To get coffee."

And he made a swift exit, stage left.

It took him no time to find the kitchen, it hadn't moved or anything, and it appeared Caitlin and Cisco kept everything in the same spot. He quickly started a pot brewing, resting his head on the cold metal of the fridge, enjoying the noise of machinery instead of the couple who grated on his nerves.

When his coffee was done, he poured himself a cup, black, and slowly trudged his way back. If those two wanted any, they could get their own, give him another break from their senseless arguing.

When he got back, beelining to the small space in Cisco's workshop that had been designated his while he helped out, they were quiet. A quick glance around told him this was because Cisco was on the other side of the room, burying through a box of small parts. Harry had returned to tinkering with whatever he was doing, and Hartley? He drank his coffee and sat down, returning to adjusting Pied Piper's goggles.

"So what do those do?"

Hartley shot his glare up. Wells had, at some point, walked over and leaned against his desk, twisting slightly to look down at his project. He was also eyeing Hartley's coffee and he had no doubt the man was considering drinking it like he does Cisco's. He always complained that it was too sweet, but Hartley had seen Cisco grimacing when he drank it which told him he didn't even sweeten it as much as he normally would, knowing Wells would drink it.

"They. . . Well basically they let me see the sound waves the gloves emit. They're a bit like Cisco's goggles, that's actually where I got the idea from, but mine are tuned only to the gloves frequency, they'd burn out otherwise."

Cisco seemed interested now, slowly drifting over.

"You designed these?"

Harry carefully picked them up, mindful that the cover was missing.

"Yeah."

"Cisc, grab me yours."

Cisco hummed and a small breach later he walked over, Vibe goggles in hand. He leaned on the opposite side of Hartley, passing them across to Harry. He, however, did pick up and drink Hartley's coffee, face screwing up.

"Ugh, when did you start drinking black . . . Wait is this spiked?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at the accusation, and Hartley felt his face heat up slightly.

"We have alcohol in building?" Harry asked.

"I think that was Julian's fault."

They both looked back at Hartley.

"So what if it is? Sue me."

Harry set down the Vibe goggles and held out his hand, Cisco passed the mug and Harry tasted it. 

"That's definitely spiked."

Hartley's face was definitely turning red now, and he narrowed his eyes at Harry.

"Did you have some input in my goggles or are you just here to judge my coffee drinking habits."

"I have input. Do they just slide over your glasses?" Cisco asked, hopping up so he was sitting on the desk.

"No, I took an old pair of glasses-" he carefully took the goggles from Harry, tilting them to show Cisco. "-And put the lenses inside so I wouldn't have to battle with that."

"Woah, that's a smart idea."

"Well, duh."

Cisco gave him a mildly shocked look but didn't comment.

"So what are you doing?"

"The frequency sync got damaged in the battle today, I'm repairing it."

Cisco hummed. Harry, still sipping Hartley's coffee, watched with interest as the younger man returned to his tinkering, slowly removing the pieces surrounding the small computer chip that ran the whole show. The couple's gaze on him felt like sandbags, but he didn't say anything, just worked away, pretending it didn't bother him.

After a few minutes, Cisco lost interest and hopped up, walking back to his project across the room. He did something over there for a moment.

"Hey I'm hungry, are you guys hungry? I was thinking of getting some Big Belly Burger."

"Yes please!" Harry responded.

"I'm vegan."

" . . . They have vegan options."

Hartley glanced over, out of the edge of his vision he could see a blurry Cisco standing nearby, pulling his jacket on. He sighed lightly and shrugged.

"Whatever."

"I'll be back. . . In a flash."

Harry was throwing something at him, but Cisco was already gone. The loud clatter of the small metal bowl was almost painful.

Just like the tension crackling in the air.

Hartley threw himself back into his work, getting the chip out and then digging around in his bag for the spare he had. He got up to find a soldering iron, digging through Cisco's endless supplies of tools.

"Soldering iron is over there, I used it the other day," Harry said, pointing across the room, on Cisco's workbench.

Hartley bit back a sharp retort and walked over, glancing around the table until he found it, walking back over and plugging it in to an extension cord. Now with nothing to do but wait, he reached up, plucked his half drunk coffee out of Harry's hands and sipped it silently. Harry was unabashedly watching him, eyes scanning Hartley's face. Finally he stood.

"Do you want a proper drink?" He offered, walking across the room, opening a closet and digging around in it before producing two cups and a bottle of something amber colored.

Hartley didn't refuse. "Does Cisco know you have that?"

"Oh I'm sure he doesn't not know, but he's not taken it from me so I guess he's content to pretend he doesn't."

Harry uncorked the bottle and poured them both a decent portion, setting it down so Hartley could clearly see the label. Scotch Whisky, 12 years, but judging from the low amount it could be nearly 13 at this stage. Hartley took the cup and gently swirled it, sniffing at it experimentally like one does wine. Harry extended his glass in a silent toast, and Hartley begrudgingly clinked their glasses together. A small sip gave him an incredibly smooth taste, the bite of alcohol still there, but not unpleasant. He made an appreciative sound and then took another sip before setting it down, returning to work.

"We've made you uncomfortable, haven't we?"

Hartley glanced sideways at Harry, but didn't answer.

"Or rather, I have, right?"

Hartley gave a small snort of amusement, pulling a magnifier over as he started soldering the new chip into place.

"I'm not the Wells you know, I'm-"

"I'm well aware," Hartley interrupted, not looking up from his tedious task. "My Wells didn't give a lick about anyone's emotions. Not even mine. You actually seem to."

Harry hesitated. Harry Wells actually hesitated.

"Your . . . You had a relationship with him?"

Hartley's silence was his answer.

"Cisco didn't say-"

"Cisco didn't know. No one did. That was the, uh . . . Compromise. It was complicated."

"A sexual relationship then?"

Hartley hummed lightly, unconsciously pushing his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he carefully maneuvered a wire into place.

Harry didn't speak, apparently unsure how to proceed.

"You can tell Cisco, I don't care anymore. It's not like I'm trying to protect his memory or anything. Hell I knew he wasn't a good person back then. But it had never been about what type of person he was for me. You know?" Hartley was speaking softly. "First it was a job, then it was all about getting raises, and getting raises started getting harder and what was a temporary lapse of reason -his words- became a regular thing."

Harry was uncomfortable, and it felt amazing. Hartley set down his tool, turning to Harry, and picking up his scotch glass instead.

"And then he hired Cisco. Harry, you should've seen the look on his face when Cisco walked in." Hartley shook his head and sipped his scotch. "I never understood why he hired him and then put him on my team until years later. Not until I found out about him being Thawne. This team must've done something that told him he had to have Cisco around in order to complete his plan."

"You loved him?"

"Yeah. And I was fooled into thinking he loved me too. You wanna know the day I realized something was wrong?"

Harry didn't answer.

"I found files. Files upon files about issues with the Particle Accelerator. That he just . . . Tucked away like they didn't happen. I confronted him about it and he assured me that he had those problems fixed and had just tucked the files away for posterity. He gave me a charming smile and I let myself believe him. _For weeks_ . And then I caught another issue and I found out the whole thing was going to blow. He knew I found out and fired me before I could shut the whole project down. It was supposed to be _our_ project, _our_ success, _our_ Particle Accelerator. That's what he promised me. But the moment I started straying from _his_ plan, it was suddenly his, I was excluded, tossed to the wind like nothing but a convenience that no longer was necessary. 

"And I, heartbroken, decided that if it could no longer be _ours_ , then it would be _his_ problem when the damn thing blew and killed half Central City. And if he went with it? Well that'd be fine with me. But no. Instead he created another mess, couldn't've just died like a normal person."

Harry was staring at him in shock. Harley scoffed and downed the rest of his scotch, turning back to his project. He didn't speak, and Harry didn't move. Neither jumped when a breach opened and Cisco popped through. Hartley didn't look up, he didn't want to see what kind of looks they were exchanging. 

"Welp! It took a little longer than a flash."

Cisco wss setting down something in front of him. He could smell the grease. A thing of fries joined it.

"I didn't know what type of sauce you liked so I got them all."

"Barbecue."

Two packets of barbecue joined his food.

"And, dear god, I hope I was right. A sweet tea?"

That got Hartley to look up, eyebrows raising. Cisco remembered he liked sweet tea? They worked together for like, a week.

"Uh . . . Yeah. Thanks?"

"You drink coffee black, but you like sweet tea?" Harry was asking, digging around in the bag Cisco was still holding.

"A boyfriend got me hooked on it," Hartley said absently, realizing how hungry he actually was.

Cisco remained quiet which was extremely surprising. 

"Uh . . . Can I ask a favor?" Hartley said, looking up as Harry prepared to bite into some disgusting looking hamburger.

"Yeah?"

"Can you . . . Not eat here? The aids make me really sensitive to things like eating noises."

The two men exchanged a look, and then Cisco smiled, picking up their milkshakes.

"Sure, Hartley."

They walked back over to Cisco's desk and Hartley felt like he could breathe again, without Wells staring down at him.

They ate in silence. The veggie burger was admittedly very good, and after he cleaned off his hands he returned to his goggles, working on them while munching on fries. When he finally had them pieced together, he pulled off his glasses and put the goggles on, turning to grab one of his gauntlets from his bag. He switched both goggles and gloves on and turned to Harry and Cisco.

"Let me know when you guys can hear something," he said, activating the gloves and then slowly beginning to turn the frequency up, a notch at a time, waiting for either to say something.

"There," Cisco said finally, wincing lightly.

"I can't hear it," Harry countered.

Hartley smiled lightly, he could see the sound waves coming off his gloves, he pointed it more directly at Harry, and the man winced.

"Never mind."

"Cover your ears."

"What, why?"

Hartley shot the glove's frequency up, the soundwaves coming off it now large and fat, like ripples in water. Both men yelled in pain and covered their ears, doubling over. Harley waited a second longer and then shut it off, grinning wickedly.

"You're still an asshole," Cisco groaned.

"You've mentioned that once or twice," Hartley started pulling off his gear.

Another alarm started blaring.

"Turn it off, Hartley!"

"It's not me! It's the-"

"Cortex!"

All three jumped up, sprinting through the halls to the cortex, Cisco threw himself into a chair and started tapping at the computer.

"Bank, West end!" He exclaimed, looking at Hartley.

"Are you coming with me?"

"Yeah!"

"I'll get your goggles, go get changed!"

Hartley sprinted down the hall again, grabbing their stuff from Cisco's lab and then sprinting back to the room where they kept a bunch of the uniforms. Hartley grabbed his jacket and yanked it on, glad he was wearing dark jeans and boots already. He slid his goggles on and both his gloves, throwing Cisco's his when he finished changing.

"Hey, Cisco, your comms," Harry said, walking in.

He walked over and gave Cisco the comms, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"Be careful."

"I'll be fine, Harry, I got Hartley watching my back."

Harry glanced over, nodding. He then walked over to Hartley, squeezing his shoulder.

"Go be a hero."

  
  
  


"Owww," Hartley whined, feeling another piece of glass slide out of his skin.

"Pipe down, don't make me regret not sedating you."

Cisco snickered from somewhere nearby.

"I don't regret it. The medicine messes with my implants," Hartley mumbled.

He had, mid battle, been tossed through a window, glass had gone through his jacket and pants, burying in his skin. So now he was laying on a medical table, in just his boxers, while Caitlin slowly extracted every piece of glass. Cisco was nearby, having his forehead bandaged by Harry, from where he had gotten smacked with something heavy. Hartley bit his tongue as the next piece of glass caught on something, not coming out smoothly.

After a while, Harry and Cisco left, leaving Caitlin to work, and Hartley to suffer. They said something about going home and then he heard a breach open and promptly close. That was fine. He was exhausted too, and probably would just go find a cot to nap on after Caitlin was done. She didn't talk, too focused, and he appreciated that.

By the time she was done, she had to stitch several places, and use tape stitches on others. Hartley thanked her and stumbled through the halls, crashing on a cot to nap for however long possible.

  
  
  
  


"I talked to Hartley while you were gone."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"How'd that go?"

"It was fairly uncomfortable."

Cisco hummed, running his fingers through his hair to rinse out the conditioner.

"Do tell."

"He was in love with Thawne."

Cisco's eyes widened and he stared through the glass wall at Harry in stunned silence.

"What the hell?"

Harry was silent. Cisco waited a moment before finishing washing his hair and then turning the water off.

"He said you didn't know."

"No. . . I had no clue."

"They had a relationship too."

"Holy fuck!"

Cisco opened the door to the shower to see Harry shaving, the man glanced at him in the mirror but didn't stare as Cisco began drying off.

"That must be why he's so edgy when we're together . . . Jesus I really had no idea."

Cisco stared at the wall as he rubbed his hair dry, thinking back all those years ago.

"Honestly, I probably should have seen it. They did spend an exorbitant amount of time together, and the looks they gave each other. Also, man did Hartley hate me."

"He was jealous of how much Thawne liked you."

"Man, did you guys become bff's?"

"No. I simply wanted to find out why he was so uncomfortable around us."

"Well, that would definitely explain it. I mean Thawne was in the body of a guy who looks exactly like you, and Hartley apparently hated me because he was in love with our boss. So seeing us together. . . "

"My thoughts exactly."

Cisco hummed again, wrapping his towel around his waist and slipping his arms around Harry's, resting his head against his back.

"You know, I had a crush on him when I first knew him. And then I found out how much of a dick he was."

Harry was silent, but that could just be because he was shaving.

"I just wish he'd calm down and see we're not gonna hurt him or anything."

Harry was still silent.

"Okay, what's going on in that big genius brain of yours?"

Harry shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

"I think he's jealous still."

"Good deduction, Sherlock."

Harry sighed lightly. "Maybe you should talk to him."

"No sir. Last time I had a heart to heart with Hartley Rathaway he tried to kill me."

"Didn't that timeline change?"

"Yes, but-"

"But, in this timeline, you guys helped each other, remember?"

Cisco sighed through his nose, nuzzling Harry's back slightly, breathing in the scent of his shirt.

"Fine. I can talk to him. What do you want me to say? "Haha, sorry my boyfriend and I are making you uncomfortable, we'll tone down the gay"?"

"No. I had a different thought I wanted to run by you."

"Oh?"

Harry pulled away and then turned around, lightly looping his arms around the shorter man. He looked down at Cisco for a moment, contemplating how he was gonna say what he was thinking.

"A proposal, I suppose. First to you, and then depending on what you think, to him."

Cisco felt his eyebrow raising. He had an inkling of an idea what Harry was about to say, but wasn't sure.

"Not to tone down our relationship. . . But instead . . . "

Cisco narrowed his eyes slightly. Harry was smirking lightly.

"Wait. Are you saying?"

Harry hummed, kissing Cisco's forehead.

"Just to be clear, you're talking about a polyamorous relationship?"

"Yes. It's fairly common on my Earth, but I understand perfectly if you are uncomfortable with the idea."

" . . . I'm not . . Uncomfortable by it, but I don't know if I'm not _not_ uncomfortable with it."

Harry rolled his eyes, ducking his head to kiss his partner lightly.

"Let me know what you decide. And I want you to know. You are, without a doubt, more than enough for me. This is not an attempt to fill some hole in our relationship."

Cisco hummed again, smiling at Harry.

"Yeah, you're enough of a genius asshole for one man."

"Couldn't handle two of me?"

"Definitely not. A bedroom couldn't fit two of your ego's."

Harry laughed at that, kissing Cisco again. Cisco leaned up into him, bringing his hands up to rest on Harry's neck. They pulled away after a moment, smiling at each other.

"I'm gonna go make breakfast."

"Okay."

Cisco slipped away and into their bedroom, pulling on clean clothes for the day, and then making his way out to the kitchen to make their breakfast, or rather their lunch, as they had gotten back at 5am and then napped until 11am. They had to get back before evening of course, crime never slept and all that. But it gave him time to think about Harry's proposition.

It was an interesting one. Cisco had been in a poly relationship before, back in college, but it had been a long time, and he hadn't been lying when he said that Harry was enough of a handful for one man. But two men. . . He could probably balance Harry and Hartley if they were also there to help balance him and the other. He'd be lying if he hadn't looked at Hartley with interest before in previous times he'd helped them out. And he knew Harry had done his own little look-overs.

"That smells delicious."

Cisco looked up, reaching a hand out for Harry, who was wearing jeans and a hoodie. Harry walked over, taking Cisco's spatula, slipping an arm around him. He flipped a few pancakes before looking down at Cisco, smiling, not speaking.

"I'm down for it."

"Oh? Ten minutes and you've already decided?"

"Yup."

Harry chuckled and kissed Cisco again.

"I'll get the toppings out."

  
  
  


Was it necessarily a good idea to find that cheap bottle of vodka and drink himself silly? No 

Was it a fun time? Hell no.

After his nap, he'd woken up with a bitch of a headache and he hadn't quite known what do with it. A lot of medications messed with him, and honestly he didn't want to risk running into Harry or Cisco. He wasn't sure how to deal with them. Not after his dumb revealing of the truth. He shouldn't have done that and now he was kicking himself. 

So when he had walked into Cisco's lab and seen Harry's scotch sitting on his desk, he'd received his answer. He wasn't going to drink himself away on expensive scotch, so he went back to the kitchen, digging out the cheap bottle of vodka he'd found last night and made his way to Harrison's old office. The door was locked, but he just reached up on top of the door frame and pulled a key off it. So no one had found it after all these years, and no doubt Harrison hadn't been able to reach it. He unlocked the door, tucking the key deep into his pocket. 

He meandered around the office for a bit, pulling the white sheets off the furniture, he wondered who had put them there. There was an old sofa against one wall that Hartley faintly remembered doing unholy things on that sofa after a late night that left the lab completely empty, except for two scientists.

Seemed like a good place to get drunk.

He flopped down on it, and it took him less than twenty minutes to chug the entirety of the bottle, which was just over half full. Being back here, in Harrison's office, where he had spent so much time was heartbreaking. He was getting ghostly memories of Harrison, in his neat suits with those dumb glasses and his hair that wasn't long enough to get a grip in, walking around his office, drawing on the whiteboard, or sitting behind that desk, scowling at terrified interns as they interrupted a "meeting".

He needed to throw up. Chugging all the alcohol and now all this nostalgia? No thanks. He was just getting up to find a trash can to rid of his insides when the door pushed open.

"Hartley?"

Oh shit he was really gonna throw up. Trash can located. He dove at it, thanking the universe that they had enough hangovers in this room that Harrison had invested in a solid metal one. As he emptied the contents of his stomach, he could hear footsteps, and then a hand was on his back.

The voice that had spoken was Harrison. Only of course it hadn't been because Harrison wasn't Harrison, he was Eobard, and this wasn't Harrison, it was Harry. This was all too much of a mind fuck for Hartley to cope with. The hand was now gently rubbing, murmuring soothing words.

"Vodka." Harrison's voice spoke again.

A hum came from the person. 

"Can you go get him a glass of water, please," Cisco's voice said.

"Yes darling."

Footsteps left the room. Hartley didn't have anything left to throw up, so he pushed the trashcan away, wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his sweatshirt. He looked up and was met with Cisco Ramon's concerned eyes.

"Come on, let's go have a seat."

Cisco startled leading Hartley back towards the sofa, but his entire body rebelled. He did _not_ want to sit on the thing. He should not have come here.

"Hartley?"

"I need out of this office," Hartley forced out.

"Okay, come on, come here."

Cisco slipped an arm around Hartley and started leading him through the halls, back towards the room with the cots that he had taken a nap in. Hartley leaned his weight into the man. He felt like shit. His throat was raw now, his stomach was still turning, there was this vile taste in his mouth. And his head still ached. And so did his heart.

Cisco sat him down on a cot, wrapping a blanket around him and then sitting beside him.

"Are you okay?"

Hartley shook his head.

"What wrong?"

"My head."

"Your implants?"

Hartley shook his head. Cisco frowned lightly.

"May I?" He asked, hands raising.

Hartley gave a slight nod. Cisco gently put his hands on Hartley's temples, gently massaging, slowly working his way around his head to the nape of his neck, his long fingers hitting all the right nerves. Hartley, if he was sober, would bet that the man was using a tad bit of his powers.

"There you are."

Hartley opened his eyes and focused in on Harry walking through the door, a glass in his hand. Cisco didn't respond, his fingers still working their magic on Hartley's head. Harry offered the glass to Hartley and he took it, carefully sipping at it. Both his stomach and his head were feeling better.

"Thank you," he said, softly, looking up at Cisco.

"Head feeling better?"

"Yeah."

Cisco smiled and dropped his hands.

"So what led you drink an entire bottle of shitty vodka and then go throw up in Thawne's old office?"

"It wasn't full, and I didn't go in there just to throw up," Hartley muttered, closing his eyes.

Harry sat on a nearby cot, curious, but not making himself part of this, leaving Cisco to do the talking.

"Same question."

"I just wanted to get drunk."

"Can't hold your liquor like you thought?"

"More like my memories."

Cisco and Harry exchanged a look. Hartley focused down on his glass.

"Did he tell you?"

"Yeah. You didn't . . . We really had no idea, Hart."

"Yeah, well I did get fired not long after you got hired."

"Still, you would've thought someone, like Caitlin, would've noticed."

"Cisco. You basically lived with the man and you had no idea he was a time traveling speedster hell-bent on killing your best friend, hell I slept with him and I had no idea. If he didn't want you guys to know something, you weren't gonna find out. I was the only one who could even kind of see through his lies and he got rid of me before I could mess with his plans."

Cisco was silent, looking at Hartley, almost fondly.

Alarms started blaring. 

"I got it. I'll call if I need you," Harry said, standing before Cisco could.

"Thank you, Babe."

Harry smiled at him, and then at Hartley, and then walked out of the room. Cisco looked back down at Hartley.

"You know, I've found," Cisco was saying, leaning back against his hands. "Geniuses like you don't get drunk without good reason."

"Cisco I don't want to do this."

Cisco raised an eyebrow. "So you'll spill your guts to my boyfriend, but you won't even talk to me?"

"Your boyfriend looks like the man I used to have sex with, so yes."

"That shit's wild, though. Are you like, attracted to Harry then?"

Hartley leveled him with a glare.

"Oh, damn. It's okay, he's pretty hot. Got that sexy dad vibe to him."

"Cisco!"

"Yeah?"

"Stultus es!"

"If that was Latin I have no idea what you said."

"Are you seriously chill with that?"

"Not knowing Latin? Yeah."

Hartley glared at him. God dammit Cisco was annoying some days. But then he flashed that adorable smile and Hartley felt himself melting.

"Hart, when you consider that Harry told me just a few hours ago that you used have sex with our boss, which explains so much, by the way, you thinking Harry's attractive isn't that strange of an idea. And honestly, not surprising."

Hartley groaned and put his head in one hand. He was by far not drunk enough to have this conversation.

"How long were you . . . And Thawne?"

"A year, maybe more."

"Holy-"

"Yeah."

"How'd . . . I guess I'm just curious how it started. He wasn't really a "let's go get coffee" type."

Hartley sighed, taking a drink of the water, wishing it bit him as viciously as the memories did.

"My Harrison was so much different than the Dr. Wells you knew. I know he was just pretending, playing a part. But with me he was almost . . . Human. He seemed to care. Of course I knew that in public he would never let someone see that he cared about anyone, especially not one of his employees. But." Hartley shrugged. "And no. There was no dating involved. It was more . . . Late night visits and hungover breakfasts then coffee shops and fancy diners."

Cisco was staring at him like he had just said the moon landing was fake, and then presented evidence.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry, I know how difficult conversations like this can be. Can I just ask one more question?"

Hartley sighed and waved his hand to give permission.

"Is that why, all those years ago, you hated me so much? Why you were so mean to me?"

Another sigh. Flashes of memory. White hot jealousy, yelling with Harrison that night. Storming out. Getting reprimanded the next day, begging for forgiveness that night. The painful, yet incredibly pleasurable punishment. He closed his eyes, willing the memories to leave him alone. He didn't want to think about how Harrison had looked at Cisco even the morning after their talk, the fondness that made Hartley want to start the cycle again. The unhidden amazement at Cisco's talents that led Hartley to be harsh to him whenever Harrison wasn't around.

"Yes," he breathed out, the word barely escaping his lips before it died.

Cisco was silent, and Hartley didn't open his eyes, but he could feel Cisco's gaze on him. He wanted to be alone, to deal with the memories by himself. He was beginning to ask Cisco to leave when suddenly arms wrapped around him and he was being hugged. He squeezed his eyes shut and allowed it, but didn't return it.

"I forgive you, Hartley," Cisco said softly, mouth next to his ear. "And I . . . Harry. We're both here for you."

Cisco started pulling away. A soft pair of lips were pressed to his temple and then Cisco was gone. Seconds later, the door opened and closed. 

It took Hartley a while to remember how to breathe. He stared after Cisco, body frozen. And then his lungs started burning, his muscles tingling, and his vision started wobbling. He gasped for air, taking a few deep breaths until his body had regained all the oxygen it needed. After a few moments, Hartley stood, gathering his things and then going home without a word to anyone. He needed more shitty alcohol.

  
  
  


The next time he came to the lab, two days later, he avoided everyone at first, darting into Harrison's office, he dug around in the file cabinets for a while before finding what he was looking for, a file on an old sonic project they had started. He shut and locked the file cabinet, slipping the key for the cabinet into his pocket and then exited the office, locking that door properly. He read it as he walked, heading into the cortex to use the computers for some research. It was early enough that he really didn't expect anyone to be around, and the lights were usually on so he didn't think anything of it. He just walked in and sat down, using Cisco's login to access the computer. It hadn't changed in five years.

"Oh! Hartley! There you are, I wanted to check your stitches if that's okay?"

Hartley looked up and around, eyes landing on Caitlin who was walking over from the medical center, a beat up Cisco on her heels, and a worried Harry on his.

"Yeah, sure."

Hartley shrugged off his jacket and tossed it to the side, sitting forwards in his seat. Caitlin gently pulled his shirt up, using her phone as a flashlight to check his stitches. He ignored Cisco and Harry's looks. He hadn't explained to them where he was yesterday. Frankly he didn't want to.

"Looks good! Any problems with the ones on your legs?"

"No. Don't even notice them."

Caitlin hummed and dropped his shirt, squeezing his shoulder and then walking away, back into her little office.

"Watcha doing?" 

Hartley didn't even jump when suddenly Cisco was leaning against his back, hands on his chair armrests. The younger man's head was against Hartley, his mouth almost uncomfortably close to Hartley's ear. Almost. 

"Looking up a file."

Hartley tapped the closed file. He could see the name and didn't need to open it yet. Cisco leaned forwards, putting more of his weight against Hartley to open the file and read the name at the top. Hartley continued to ignore him, typing away.

"How'd you even get into the computer?" Cisco was asking, tilting the file to begin reading it.

"You haven't changed your password in five years, Cisco."

Cisco chuckled slightly. "I suppose that's true. So what is it?"

"An annoyance remover. I was hoping to test it on you."

Harry, from across the lab, laughed loudly at that. Hartley felt a small smile forming at that.

"Haha, very funny, Hart. You're a right comedian."

"Thanks. No, it's an old sonic manipulation device we prototyped. I wanted to look into adding the tech to my gauntlets so I can manipulate the frequencies better."

"Oh. Cool."

Cisco had flipped the page, reading the file, Hartley glanced over, seeing the notes and little doodles he had made on the page. He frowned lightly but didn't say anything, looking back at the computer, and frowned more.

"It's not in the system."

"It might have been destroyed in the explosion, we deleted a lot of files on things that got destroyed."

"That was dumb of you."

"Agreed," Harry called from across the room.

"Hey, don't attack me like that. You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Oh I am, but mocking you is so much fun."

Cisco scowled over Hartley at Harry. 

"Do you mind if I go down to storage and look just to make sure the prototype isn't down there?"

"Feel free. Do you want some help?"

"No, you're injured, rest," Hartley said, finally tilting his head to look up at Cisco.

The man smiled down at him. "Aww, you do care!"

"Don't get your hopes up."

"I'll get that hard exterior to crack one of these days," Cisco said softly, he reached down, squeezing Hartley's knee.

"Keep on trying, Ramon."

"I will."

Hartley raised an eyebrow lightly, they stared at each other for so long that it should've been uncomfortable. But it wasn't. Cisco was smiling softly at him, and if he had looked over, he would have seen the knowing smirk on Harry's lips.

Cisco's phone started ringing, interrupting them.

"I guess I should get that."

"That would be a good idea."

Cisco pushed away, finally relieving the weight of his chest against Hartley's back. He pulled out his phone and answered it, stepping away to talk. Hartley took a quick glance at the file number and then stood, reaching into a drawer where he knew the key to the storage room was. Once he found it, he started out of the room.

"Want some company?"

Hartley glanced behind him to see Harry walking up. He was waiting for the elevator. Harry had his hands tucked into his pockets.

"Why not?"

Harry stopped beside him. They didn't speak the whole way down to the storage locker, and once they reached it, they only spoke to explain how the storage system worked and what they were looking for. They split off, looking for the device. Hartley found himself appreciating the silent company. Harry had such a different presence then Cisco. Stoic, quieter, lower energy. He had a commanding presence that caused everyone to listen and pay attention. Cisco was more energetic, mouth always running, ideas constantly spewing out of his genius brain. Cisco was like a golden retriever, while Harry was more like a wise old street cat.

After nearly an hour of searching, they both came up empty.

"This is pointless."

"Well, Cisco did say a lot of projects had been damaged-"

"No that's not it. I don't remember ever seeing him log this. Which means one thing."

Hartley walked out of the storage room, and Harry followed him curiously. Once the door was locked, Hartley walked back to the elevator and back up to Harrison's office for the second time that day. He produced the key, much to Harry's surprise and unlocked it.

"I thought Barry was the only one who had the key to this office."

"You guys suck as investigators. There's been a key on top of the door frame this whole time."

Harry laughed coldly, shaking his head. Hartley pushed the door open and walked straight over to the closet. He pulled open the doors and started pushing around totes of things, looking at the carefully marked labels. He finally found one of the few boxes his prize might be in and popped one open, pulling out old gizmos and random devices Harrison had been working on.

"You seem to know your way around," Harry hummed, walking over to the large window and pulling the shades up.

"Well I did work here for years, and spent probably half a year in this office alone."

This box didn't have it. He sealed it back up and shoved it back into the closet, moving on to the next one.

"Harry can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"On your Earth, do you know that version of me?"

"I . . . Met him once. He was a criminal, a meta like Reverb, Cisco's double. They were partners for a while, before Zoom. But then when Reverb started working for Zoom, Piper left him. He went missing. No one's heard from him in years."

Hartley hummed, grabbing a small device and looked at it, spinning it between his fingers.

"What's that?"

"A tinker toy. I fidget, and I always thought better if I had something to do with my hands. He made this, I never figured it out. It used to sit there on his desk and every time I walked into this office it was in my hands."

Harry held out his hand and Hartley passed it over, returning to rummaging through the box. Harry leaned against the desk and scowled down at the toy. The third box revealed the small device Hartley was looking for. He put the box back and then closed the closet, spinning the thing around. He really just needed the computer chip, but he didn't have any tools with him.

"Do you mind if I?"

"Go ahead. Maybe you can figure it out."

Harry shoved the toy in his pocket. They walked out and Hartley locked the door, making sure Harry saw him put the key in his pocket. They walked back to the cortex together. Barry had appeared at some point, dressed up as the Flash as Caitlin, Cisco and he all bickered about something or another. Hartley just ignored them and sat back at the computer.

"Hey, Harry, do you have a screwdriver I can borrow?"

"Phillip or flat?"

"A small flat."

A hum of a response and then Harry was passing a screwdriver over Hartley's shoulder. He glanced up and caught a curious glance from Barry, but didn't say anything. He just took out the computer chip and found a converter, checking the programing.

"Hey, Hartley can you do a quick search for that meta we were tracking yesterday?"

"I wasn't here yesterday, Barry," Hartley reminded, not looking up.

"Oh. . . Right. . . Where were you?"

"I got it," Cisco said, walking over and sitting next to Hartley, starting a search.

Hartley looked up, making eye contact with Harry first before looking over at the blonde.

"I was having my annual "you're a disappointment to this family" meeting with my parents and then drinking my sorrows away with a cheap bottle of wine."

"Oh." Barry looked down awkwardly, the man really had no idea how to communicate with Hartley.

Hartley hummed, looking back at his computer. Cisco lightly bumped his ankle, drawing his attention.

"Your parents are assholes, Hart. Don't let them get to you."

"You don't know them, Cisco. How do you know?"

"Because anyone who thinks that their genius son is a disappointment just because he is gay has to be an asshole. Speaking from experience here."

Hartley sighed, looking away from Cisco and back to his computer. The team returned to bickering and Hartley tried to disassociate from them. He needed to focus. He hadn't even noticed that he'd started tapping until Harry was leaning against his chair, holding out the fidget toy. Hartley felt a small smile forming. Harry had no idea how many times this scene had happened. He accepted it and started trying to solve it, the mechanisms inside needing to be put in a very specific and precise order for it to be unlocked. Hartley still didn't know if there was anything inside, Harrison would never tell.

Cisco ended up going out with Barry, but Hartley stayed in the cortex with Harry and Caitlin, Caitlin running comms. Harry leaned against the desk next to him, looking at the code Hartley was scanning. He softly commented on something and when Hartley leaned forwards to correct it, Harry gently put a hand on his back, reaching out with his other to point out the mistake.

What the hell was Cisco and Harry doing?

That evening, when Cisco was finally shutting things down for the night, he found Hartley in the lab, glaring at his gauntlets with eyes that were stinging from lack of sleep.

"Hey, I'm leaving for the night . . . "

"Okay."

Hartley glanced up, blinking, trying to get his eyes to refocus on Cisco. They looked at each other for a moment. Hartley's blue eyes unfocused, Cisco's dark brown ones concerned.

"Hey, so." Cisco started walking closer. "Harry went to hang with Jesse for the night. You wanna come hang, we could watch a movie or just do science and shit, order some vegan takeout?"

Hartley raised an eyebrow, pushing his glasses up as they were useless with his eyes as unfocused as they were.

"You asking me to come hangout because your boyfriend's out of town? Isn't that some cliche in rom-coms?"

"Hartley Rathaway, do you watch rom-coms?"

"Used to. I had a boyfriend who liked them back in college."

Cisco chuckled and then shrugged. 

"Well, if it was a cliche, I'm chill with it."

Hartley felt his eyebrow go up higher.

"So what's your answer?"

He sighed, leaning back in his chair, pulling his glasses down so he could look at Cisco properly.

"What is this? You and Harry. What are you two doing?"

Cisco sighed and leaned against the desk, crossing his arms, unknowingly copying Harry as he tried to figure out how to explain.

"We're just . . . Opening ourselves up?"

Hartley stared at him for a minute. And then two. Cisco didn't try to explain further. He didn't need too. He knew Hartley understood. Hartley chewed on the inside of his cheek, trying to make sense of this situation. The past few days had been weird. But they'd also been better. Harry and Cisco had been a little tamer about all their flirting and had been quieter, looping Hartley in when they could, or leaving him to work in peace when they couldn't.

"Fine. Let's go."

Hartley stood, carefully gathering all the pieces of his gauntlets and putting them in a canvas bag along with all his tools. Cisco was grinning at him. Once he had everything, Cisco opened a breach, and they stepped out into his living room. Hartley stood there, looking around in silence at how neat, but still chaotic everything was. Cisco walked into the kitchen, pulling open a drawer and pulling out stacks of takeout menus.

"What are you feeling? We have like, three types of Asian, Mediterranean, pizza, more pizza. . . . Mexican?"

"Mediterranean."

Cisco quickly pulled out the requested menu.

"You can put your thing on the table," he said, pointing at an old oak table in the corner of the kitchen. There were wine glasses and an empty bottle still sat on it.

Hartley walked closer, looking at the simple kitchen, the spice rack, the dishes drying beside the sink, and the dirty ones inside it. He carefully set the bag down, eyes landing on the wine fridge in the corner of the kitchen.

"Here, let me know when you know what you want," Cisco said, passing the menu over.

Hartley, however, watched the man produce a hair tie from somewhere and quickly pull his hair up into a messy bun. He started putting the dishes up, stacking plates and sliding them into a cabinet with matching porcelain bowls and smaller plates. He started washing the dirty dishes next, not even looking behind him at Hartley.

"Uh, I've got it," Hartley said finally. 

"Okay!"

Cisco dried his hands, pulling out his phone and doing something. "What do you want?"

"Just the falafel tray."

Cisco hummed in response, after another few seconds of typing he pocketed his phone, returning to his dishes.

"So. Your dinner went bad?"

"What?"

"Yesterday, with your parents."

"Oh. Yeah. It always does."

"Then why do you still go? Why not cut them out?"

Hartley sighed and sat at the table, pulling his project back out.

"Because, mom gives me pieces of my inheritance every time."

"Oh."

"If it wasn't for that single reason, I would. But you know. Sugar daddies are a little harder to come by than one might think. Especially when you're a thirty year old genius with a disability and a snarky attitude."

Cisco laughed, throwing his head back as the cheerful sound emitted from his chest, then he threw a look over his shoulder at Hartley.

"Stick around and who knows, Barry may put you on payroll."

"He pays you guys?"

"Uh, duh? How do you think Harry and I afford this place. The kid is basically a billionaire with all the money Thawne gave him, he just puts it all into Team Flash."

Hartley hummed, focusing on carefully screwing one of the panels back into place. Cisco seemed content to let the silence continue. After he finished dishes, he disappeared from the kitchen, coming back after a few moments with a laptop and a notebook. He set up shop across from Hartley, and they worked in silence for nearly twenty minutes until the doorbell rang.

"There's food."

Cisco jumped up and got the food. He came back, but didn't give Hartley his food, just walked into the living room.

"Break time! Come on, Hart. Let's find some dumb rom-com."

Hartley groaned and stood, setting his tools down before walking over.

"Would you rather have wine or something hard?"

"Something hard."

"Beer?"

"Sure."

Cisco passed him his food and then disappeared, coming back with two opened beer bottles and forks. They settled into the sofa, Cisco beside Hartley but not touching him. He found an old rom-com and turned it on, surprisingly not commenting as they ate and watched. After the movie was finished, Cisco announced he was going to take a shower and then promptly disappeared, so Hartley went back to finishing putting his gloves together. He would test them tomorrow in the speed lab, where things were supposed to be destroyed.

He had just stretched out on the sofa, socked feet up on one arm rest, when he heard a door open. Cisco padded over, wet hair back in a braid, wearing a hoodie that definitely was Harry's. He leaned against the back of the sofa, smiling down at Hartley.

"You wanna crash for the night?"

Hartley knew it'd be no struggle for Cisco to breach him back to the lab where he could get his car and drive home. It wasn't even that late. But still he heard himself accepting the offer, and smiling back when Cisco's smile grew wider.

"I'll see you in the morning, then."

"Wait. Cisco."

Hartley sat up as Cisco began walking away. He was suddenly informed that Cisco was wearing what appeared to be gym shorts that reached mid thigh, giving him a wonderful view of the man's legs.

"We could watch another movie, if you're not tired?"

"It's like, ten pm, of course I'm not tired."

Cisco turned on his heel and walked back over, dropping beside Hartley. They argued over a movie for a moment before settling on Les Miserables. Cisco's leg was touching Hartley's, and it was making his heart race like a teenager with a silly crush. As the movie went on, Cisco settled down into the sofa, and now, not only was his leg fully leaned in Harley's, their arms were now touching. Cisco's eyes were beginning to drift shut, Hartley could see it out of the corner of his eye. The slow blinks, the gentle nodding of the head. Hartley shifted to look at him better.

"Cisco, maybe you should just go to bed?" He whispered, reaching out to touch the man's shoulder.

"No," Cisco whispered back, looking small and innocent as he blinked up at Hartley.

"You're falling asleep."

"I don't wanna leave you."

Hartley stared at him, suddenly unsure how to proceed. They weren't that far apart. Less than a foot. Hartley's heart was beating so fast, his eyes darting over Cisco's face and he tried to understand. Machines were so much easier than this. And then Cisco was leaning forwards. Hartley was frozen in place, unable to stop Cisco as he leaned closer, gently pressing their lips together in a hesitant kiss.

"Wait." Hartley gently grabbed Cisco's arms, pushing him away.

Cisco frowned, eyes big and concerned.

"Harry-"

"Harry encouraged this, Hart. This is what opening up looks like," Cisco explained, reaching a hand up to touch Hartley's face.

He was sure he must look like some cartoon character, eyes bugging out of his head with how wide they felt.

"I don't understand," he breathed out.

Cisco's hand trailed down Hartley's face, down to his chin.

"I think you do."

And he kissed Hartley again. This time, he didn't pull away, instead he pressed back into Cisco, a hand coming up to tangle into his hair. Cisco let out a small whine as he sucked in Hartley's bottom lip. The noise was almost painful in what it did to Hartley, he was pulling at Cisco's hip now, and the man took the hint, pulling away and twisting so he was straddling Hartley.

Something was telling him this was incredibly wrong. Cisco was dating Harry. He shouldn't be doing this. But the rest of him was begging for any type of affection, to be touched by someone he trusted. He wanted this so bad, and Cisco was willingly giving it to him, kissing him passionately, hands running along Hartley's body. He still had one hand knotted in Cisco's hair, the other had found its way down, onto Cisco's ass.

"Fuck, what am I doing," Hartley whispered out as he pulled away to catch his breath.

"Opening up," Cisco responded, gently stroking Hartley's hair, pulling his glasses off and setting them safely to the side. "It's okay, Hartley, you're not doing anything wrong."

"But-"

"Shh, remember? Harry is on board with this. We both want you. Not just as a little fling, but as our partner."

Cisco was touching Hartley's face now, rubbing his thumbs along his cheekbones.

"Why?"

"Because you're brilliant, you're attractive, you challenge both of us in ways we haven't been able to on our own. You deserve so much, Hartley. Let us give it to you. We both want you, the only question is do you want it too?"

Hartley blinked up at him. Cisco smiled back.

"You don't have to decide yet. And if you don't want to, that's perfectly fine. We won't act weird or anything. And take as much time as you need to decide."

"Can I . . . Can I make a temporary decision that I can change or keep later?" Hartley asked softly.

"Sure."

"For now, yes."

Cisco smiled, squishing Hartley's face slightly, leaning down and kissing his nose.

"Harry did mention a slight concern. If it's awkward at all . . . With him looking . . . We understand."

Hartley nodded lightly, slowly loosening his grip in Cisco's hair, knowing how protective of it the man was. Cisco hummed lightly, catching Hartley's lips in another kiss. Hartley pushed up, kissing him back, almost desperate again as he sought for the affection he craved. He almost giggled as Cisco gently pulled at his lips with his teeth.

"This is so stupid," he said finally, a small giggle escaping him.

"What?"

"The fact that this is happening, now. At all. I never even-"

"Thought about it before this week?"

"Yeah."

"I did."

"Wait what?"

"Yeah. Last time you came to help us."

Hartley shook his head, squinting slightly at blurry Cisco, who smiled back at him.

They slowly slid into a laying position, Cisco's arm around Hartley's stomach, his other one under his head, returning to watching their movie. Hartley slowly drifted to sleep, not even realizing it until it was too late.

When he came to a little bit later, a Star Trek movie paused, a voice coming from across the apartment. Cisco was still behind him, still keeping him held close, keeping him safe.

"He agreed?"

"Kinda. I would consider it a trial, almost."

"That's good. You gonna stay there?"

"Yeah, I kinda figured. Unless he wakes up."

A hum. The sound of the microwave. "How was it?"

"Nice. It was really nice. How was Jesse?"

"Busy. I spent more time watching comms than actually spending time with her."

"Aw, I'm sorry babe. Maybe you can go out again this weekend."

Judging by the casual conversation, neither Cisco, nor Harry, the second voice, had realized Hartley was awake. He didn't move.

"Yeah, I'll have to see. She's just busy, like we are."

Cisco hummed, the noise vibrating against Hartley's back. There was the noise of glass on wood, and then he could sense someone standing over them. Cisco tilted away, humming again, and it didn't take a genius to guess they were kissing. Hartley tensed when he suddenly felt a hand, fingers rough and calloused, on his cheek.

"Hey, don't wake him up. He's had a rough couple of days."

Well, time to make himself known. 

Hartley took a deep breath, stretching slightly and thus forcing his body back against Cisco further. Cisco's arm around him tightened and the hand lifted from his face.

"Look what you did."

"Oh don't give me that look."

Hartley opened his eyes and met Harry's piercing blue ones. The man looked tired, wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. He smiled softly at Hartley, and got a lazy smile in return.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Cisco hummed, pressing a kiss into Hartley's hair.

"What time is it?"

"Like, two fifteen."

"Did you just get back?"

Harry nodded, moving to sit in an armchair not far from the sofa, pulling a bowl of food into his lap. Hartley considered getting up, but the hand on his chest, thumb slowly rubbing back and forth, held him in place. He let his eyes close again. After a moment someone started the movie again. They sat around for a while before Harry left to take a shower.

"Do you want some comfier clothes?" Cisco asked, smiling softly at Hartley.

"Sure."

Hartley sat up, and then stood, Cisco smoothly pushed himself up, reaching out to snag Hartley's hand and lead him into the bedroom. Cisco glanced over Hartley for a moment before giving a deciding grunt and moving to a dresser and digging around. 

"Oh, old man, why don't you wash your laundry?" Cisco grumbled, frowning.

He searched around in another drawer before pulling out a pair of sweats. He found a shirt and put that on top, walking over to hand them to Hartley.

"I figured Harry's pants would fit you better. Besides, bigger is comfier, right?"

Hartley mumbled something that could be considered agreement, Cisco smiled at him.

"I'll be right back," he said with a wink and then exited the bedroom, disappearing into the kitchen.

Hartley decided to make use of the privacy and started changing, pulling off his jeans and carefully folding them before setting them on the bed for now. He started tugging his shirt over his head and must've missed, the sound of a door opening. He did not, however miss it closing, whirling to face Harry as he gently shut it behind him. The man smiled warmly. He was also shirtless, once again wearing his sweatpants. They looked at each other for a moment before Harry's gaze dropped, running along Hartley's chest.

He didn't move, feeling pinned to the spot by the heavy gaze.

"I understand Cisco talked to you."

"Yeah," Hartley breathed out.

"And you accepted."

He nodded this time.

Harry walked closer, stopping less than a foot away.

"Are you . . . If there is any inquietude with me, do not hesitate to make it known," Harry said, gently reaching his hand up and touching Hartley's arm.

"I'm good," Hartley promised, feeling breathless suddenly.

Harry smiled warmly, reaching up to stroke Hartley's cheek. The door opened and Cisco stepped half-in, glancing between them.

"Hey . . . I, uh, gotta go help Barry with something. You two good here?"

"Yeah," Harry called, turning to look at Cisco.

The man smiled and walked over. He walked straight up to Hartley, putting a hand on his neck and lightly kissing him. Hartley hesitated, but let his eyes close, returning it. Cisco gave a pleased noise and then stepped back, smiling. He then turned to Harry, slipping his arms around the taller man and rising up on his tiptoes to kiss him, deeper than the kiss he had just shared with Hartley. Something indescribable ran through Hartley, jealousy? Pleasure? Confusion? He couldn't explain it.

"Be nice," Cisco murmured to Harry and then stepped away. "I'll see you guys in a bit."

He opened a breach and was gone.

"Does it ever annoy you when he does that?" Hartley asked, tugging the shirt he had been given on, hiding scars and the stitches on his back.

"Oh all the time, but he loves being able to do it so I don't complain."

Harry walked over to the dresser and frowned into it, much like Cisco had.

"He needs to do laundry," he muttered, opening another drawer.

"He said the same thing about you."

"Of course he did, the little traitor."

Hartley laughed, stepping back to sit on the bed and watch Harry move around, gathering dirty items of laundry that had been scattered around the room and separate them into two baskets. Then he walked over to one of the bedside tables and plugged his phone in, beginning turn down the blankets on the bed.

"You're not gonna wait up for him?"

"Last time I tried that I ended up not sleeping, which I already do enough of. Feel free."

Harry however, walked back to the dresser, pulling out another set of clean clothes, setting them on top. Hartley grabbed his own clothes and stood.

"Well. . . Goodnight."

Harry gave him a curious look, eyebrow raising.

"You can stay here, if you like, you don't have to sleep on the sofa."

Hartley stopped, turning to Harry. Neither man spoke. Finally Harry walked over, stopping much closer this time. He wasn't terribly taller then Hartley, not like he was with Cisco.

"May I?" Harry asked, hands coming up to cup his face.

He nodded just barely.

It was such a familiar, yet completely foreign scene. Harry felt, and looked so familiar, yet as he leaned down and pressed his slightly rough lips to Hartley's, it was a completely new experience. He hadn't known what to expect, would Harry kiss him like Harrison had? Would he be as rough and demanding, or gentle and searching? The soft, barely existent kiss was nothing like kissing Harrison, and a tense breath escaped Hartley when he realized it.

They ended up falling back on the bed, lips locked in a desperate kiss that was mostly led by Hartley, who was searching for any sign that he shouldn't be okay with this, but never finding any. Harry had his hands under Hartley's shirt, running along his abdomen, his warm fingers sending tingles of pleasure along Hartley's skin. Hartley's head was spinning and he pulled back, tilting away as he gasped in air. Harry carefully took his glasses, setting both of theirs on the table and then putting his hand on Hartley's side.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly, normally stoic face full of concern.

"Yeah. This just wasn't how I expected this day to go," Hartley breathed out.

Harry hummed and tugged Hartley down on top of him, hands on his back. Hartley let him roll them over so Harry was on top, and then tilted his head to allow Harry's warm mouth to begin kissing his pale skin.

"As much as I'd like to keep going down this path," Harry murmured. "Cisco would never forgive me if I did anything without his presence."

_Holy fuck he's talking about sex_

Hartley's fingers were digging into Harry's shoulders, and he let out a tiny whimper with the realization. Evidence was leading him to believe that it would be completely new and nothing he could have expected. Harry chuckled and gently dug his teeth into a fleshy part of Hartley's neck, lightly licking over the indents he left.

"Holy shit, Harry," Hartley whined out, his body reacting to the stimulation and steadily making his arousal more and more known.

Harry let out a tense groan as Hartley bucked his hips, grinding them together. A stern gaze pinned Hartley down and he froze.

"Not on the first night," he almost reprimanded, one hand beginning to push himself up and away.

"Wait," Hartley whined again, pulling Harry back down. "Don't stop kissing me."

A moment of hesitation flashed across Harry's face, but then he almost shrugged and lightly began kissing Hartley again, soft, lingering kisses meant to calm them down. After a while, Hartley found himself falling asleep in Harry's arms.

  
  
  


The next morning, he woke up to a sleeping Cisco and a missing Harry.

Cisco had one arm lazily draped over Hartley, but he was on his stomach, face pressed at an odd angle so he could still breath. His hair was all pushed to one side, and he looked absolutely gorgeous, peaceful and quiet. Hartley threw a gaze around the room to see Harry truly was gone. He carefully pulled away from Cisco, making sure the man was covered before grabbing his glasses and slipping out and across the hall to the open bathroom.

When he came out, bedhead tamed and looking almost normal, Harry was stood at the stove, cooking.

"Good morning," Hartley called to alert him that he was no longer alone.

"Ah! Buenos días, Hartley. Coffee?"

"Please."

Harry stepped away from the stove to reach into a cabinet and pull out a red coffee mug. He passed it over, and Hartley noticed with some amusement that it was a Flash mug. He walked over to the full coffee maker and poured himself a cup, walking over to the table with his steaming hot cup.

"How late did he get back last night?" 

"Early, would be the correct term. I'm not sure, but I would guess around five? That's when he woke me up, anyway."

Hartley hummed, beginning to put his tools up.

"How did you sleep?"

"Really good. Better than I have in a long time."

"Good."

They went silent, Harry finished cooking while Hartley finished packing up. Breakfast turned out to be crepes, with the explanation of it being one of the few breakfast things Harry knew how to cook vegan.

"It's okay, I generally don't eat breakfast, and when I do it's just fruit," Hartley said with a smile. "Thank you, though."

A warm smile was his response. Harry smiled a lot more when there wasn't other people around. After breakfast, Hartley offered to clean up, but was immediately denied.

"Well. . . Can I take a shower then?"

"Sure. Feel free to use anything. Except the purple bottle of shampoo. Cisco will vibe you to Earth-22 for using it."

"What's on Earth-22?"

"Zombie apocalypse."

Hartley rolled his eyes. "I'm sure I could get my way out of it."

"Wouldn't risk it. Towels are in the tall cabinet beside the sink."

Hartley walked into the bathroom, firmly shutting the door behind him. He slowly stripped, turning in the mirror to look at his stitches. There weren't that many, just a few scattered here and there, but some of them were long and jagged. He grabbed a fluffy gray towel and a matching wash cloth before stepping into the shower. He washed quickly, using the not-purple-bottle shampoo. When he came back out, dressed in the clothes Cisco had given him again, Harry was sat on the sofa, reading a book. Hartley made his way over, sitting next to him, grabbing his phone off the coffee table. 

They sat in comfortable silence for a long time. After a bit Harry put an arm around Hartley, tugging him over against his side. Hartley adjusted a bit but then relaxed into Harry, eyes closed. Cisco didn't wake up until almost noon, and when he came out, dressed in an oversized shirt and boxers, he was on the phone, eyes half closed.

"Hold on, I'm getting there."

Harry and Hartley had both turned to watch him sit at the table in front of his laptop, typing at it with one hand. His hair was tangled and he looked like he'd rather be dead then awake.

"Okay, I emailed you the access code. Let me know when you get it and I'll give you the password."

Cisco stood and walked over to the coffee maker, quickly making himself a cup and then leaning against the counter, eyes closed as he sipped it.

"Okay, it's S. T. A. R. 17. C. R. . . . Yeah. Got it? Okay. Call if you have any issues."

Cisco hung up the phone and set it on the counter, eyes landing on the two on the couch. A tired smile spread across his lips and he started walking over. Hartley sat up, watching him. The youngest of them set down his coffee cup, and then pointed at the small space between them.

"I'm going to sit here and I fully expect to be sandwiched with cuddles."

Harry laughed, Hartley obliged and scooted over enough that Cisco could squeeze in between them. He sat and pulled up his feet, leaning his legs onto Harry, but his upper body against Hartley, who wrapped his arms around the younger man. Harry hooked an arm around Cisco's legs and continued reading his book like nothing happened. 

"Hart, give me the remote, please?'

"Yeah sure."

Hartley leaned forwards, snagging the TV remote and giving it to Cisco who hummed his thanks and turned it on, restarting the unfinished movie.

"Who called?" Harry asked, finally closing his book, fingers beginning to trail up and down Cisco's leg.

"Felicity. She need to borrow our satellites."

"Oh. Rough day for them?"

"I guess so."

Hartley had no idea who Felicity was but he didn't ask. Harry shifted, pushing Cisco's legs off.

"I'm going to go into the lab-" Cisco booed him. "I have research to do."

Harry lightly smacked Cisco's legs, rolling his eyes. Cisco grinned and leaned forwards, tilting his head up to Harry.

"Drive safe. Give a shout if you need anything."

Harry hummed and brought a hand up to Cisco's neck, kissing him softly. Hartley watched in unhidden fascination, knowing he was allowed to look now. When Harry pulled away, they met eyes, and the man smirked lightly. He pushed against Cisco until the man fell back into Hartley's lap, and then Harry leaned forwards, stretching slightly to kiss Hartley, a little deeper of a kiss than Cisco had been given. Cisco gave a bit of a whine but didn't separate them. Harry pulled away after a while of bliss.

"I'll see you two later," he said softly and then disappeared, calling one last goodbye as he shut the door behind him.

Cisco looked up at Hartley, still laying on his lap, Star Trek playing in the background. Hartley looked down at him, eyebrow lazily raising.

"I see you two got acquainted last night."

Hartley hummed in response, slipping an arm under Cisco and pulling him up slightly and pressing their lips together, any hint of nervousness gone as he drew in Cisco's bottom lip. He had been given a place in this relationship, and he would happily accept it, especially if it helped him heal from being affection starved for almost four years.

Cisco reached a hand up to rest on Hartley's chest, kissing him back. Hartley didn't even care that Cisco had morning breath that was barely masked by coffee. He was just content to hold Cisco and kiss him.

* * *

  
  


Hartley had disappeared. It'd been nearly a week and no one had heard from him, or Pied Piper.

Cisco was nervous it was his and Harry's fault.

Hartley had disappeared the day after that night he had spent with them. No word, no goodbye. Just gone. Cisco had vibed him and he was alive, but he hadn't been able to get a sight on where he was. He just knew the man was alive. 

It had taken Cisco two days to finally go to sleep, and stop vibing Hartley every half an hour. The man was traveling, that's all he could tell. He wouldn't answer the phone, or texts, so he officially had cut Cisco and Harry out of his life. Or so it would seem.

"Darling, it was his choice, we both knew that," Harry said, not even looking over from his whiteboard.

They had been sitting in silence for twenty minutes, they hadn't even been speaking about Hartley before that, but Cisco was absently tapping at a computer screen, clearly not focused on his work.

"What if we pushed him away?"

"Then that was his choice."

"I didn't want him to run away if the answer was no."

Harry sighed, putting his marker down. He turned to Cisco, crossing his arms.

"Cisco, you don't know that he did run away, maybe something came up."

"Harry it's been a week!"

"I know, but-"

Harry snapped his mouth shut as Cisco suddenly grabbed a pen and chucked it, standing and shoving a hand through his hair.

"I hate this. I want to go after him."

"No. We discussed why you shouldn't do that."

"I just wanna know why, Harry!"

"I know, I know."

Harry walked over and gently cupped Cisco's face, seeing tears beginning to build up.

"Give him a few more days. And if he still doesn't show. . . . Then you can go after him."

Cisco groaned in frustration and leaned the weight of his head into Harry's hands. After a moment Harry pulled him into a tight hug, gently stroking his hair.

"Only he can decide to come back to us, Querido. And if he does, we will be here to welcome him with open arms."

Cisco let out a shaky breath that Harry would swear resembled a sob.

"Hey, Cisco can you look over this- file . . . For . . . Me."

Harry snapped his gaze up to the new speaker, who was standing in the doorway. Barry shuffled his feet awkwardly, looking down at the cement floor.

"Put it on my desk, Barry," Cisco mumbled into Harry.

At the confused look, Harry just pointed at the desk and Barry took the hint, quietly walking over and setting it down before walking out like a normal human. Cisco pulled away after a moment and Harry offered a small smile.

"Todo irá bien," he murmured and kissed Cisco's forehead before stepping away.

  
  


Being woken up at 3am by a pounding on the door was Cisco's least favorite thing. It normally meant someone was dying and Cisco's apartment was the closest thing. He kicked Harry, swinging his foot back to nail the sleeping man in the shins.

"You get it," Harry mumbled, but tightened his arm around Cisco, nuzzling the man's neck.

"Don't wanna."

"It's your apartment."

Cisco groaned and kicked Harry again. The man chuckled tiredly and opened his arms, letting Cisco slip away. He grabbed a hoodie off the end of the bed and pulled it on, slipping out of the bedroom and across the apartment, as the person knocked again.

"I'm coming," Cisco grumbled, flicking on the light nearest to the door.

He fumbled with the locks, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he prepared for a burst of adrenaline. He pulled open the door and was met with something much better.

A tired, unkempt, yet lazily smirking Hartley Rathaway.

Cisco felt his eyes widen and his mouth fall open, no words forming as he stared at the man. Hartley was wearing dark jeans, a wrinkled blue button down and a dark black leather jacket over that. He had his thumbs hooked through backpack straps and his hair was tangled, not as soft and fluffy as it usually was.

"Hey, Cisco."

"Hartley!"

"Sorry it's so late, I just . . . Didn't want to go to my apartment."

Cisco lunged and grabbed Hartley by the jacket, pulling him into a desperate kiss.

_Holy shit, he's okay._

Hartley was immediately pressing back, hands coming to Cisco's waist as they pressed into each other. Cisco pulled him into the apartment and Hartley kicked the door shut behind him. Only once it was closed did Cisco pull away, bringing his hands up to Hartley's face, examining it in the dim lighting.

"Where have you been?!" Cisco questioned, the pitch of his voice rising.

"Montana? Had some stuff I needed to deal with. So I could settle down."

Cisco scowled and Hartley was speaking before he even got reprimanded.

"I know, I should've told you guys what was going on. I'm sorry. But I needed to deal with this alone."

"I'm just glad you're back," Cisco breathed out, kissing Hartley again, tenderly this time.

"Me too."

It had been nearly two weeks now, and Cisco had stopped vibing Hartley every day, just checked up on him occasionally to make sure he was alive. But here he was, coming back to them.

"Is. . . Where's Harry?"

"In bed."

"Oh. Did I wake you-"

"Trust me. It's perfectly okay," Cisco responded, stepping back as Hartley started to slide his backpack off.

He deposited everything but his clothes at the front door, which Cisco relocked, and then they made their way to the bedroom. Harry had fallen back asleep, judging by the soft almost snoring.

"Do you need clothes?" Cisco whispered.

"Please."

Cisco quickly dug out a shirt and some sweatpants, which Hartley accepted and quickly changed into. Cisco tugged off his hoodie and walked over, behind Harry, putting a knee on the bed and gently shaking him.

"Harry, wake up."

"Hmm? Oh. Is everything okay?" Harry grumbled, waking from his light dozing.

"Everything's great."

"Who was at the door then?"

"Hartley."

"Oh. Okay." A pause. "Wait, what?"

Hartley smiled, pulling what was probably Harry's shirt over his head. He walked over, climbing up on the side of the bed Cisco wasn't on. Harry squinted at him in the darkness, propped up on one elbow.

"Hey, Harry."

"Hartley. You're back."

"Yeah. Sorry. Had some personal issues that I had to sort out."

Harry didn't question it, just grabbed Hartley by the shirt and tugged him down on top of his chest, kissing the man. This one was sloppy and had very little effort put into it, but it still had Hartley melting onto him.

"We're glad you're back, Hart," Cisco was saying.

Hartley pulled away to look up at him, pushing up off Harry slightly.

"Me too."

Cisco was watching him with an almost worried gaze, eyes cutting down to Harry quickly before looking back up Hartley. He watched as the youngest of them slowly walked around the bed, to the more open side, he carefully crawled up on the bed, sitting next to the two. Hartley went to pull away from Harry, but the man tightened his arms around his lower back, holding him down.

The hungry look in Harry's eyes startled Hartley. The couple exchanged a look and suddenly Hartley was being jostled, Harry smoothly sitting up and pulling Hartley into his lap, kissing him again, the man clearly wide awake now as he pressed a little harder, teased with little nibbles, hands sliding up under Hartley's shirt. A second set of hands were in his hair and he felt a bump at his back, sensing that Cisco had made a place for himself.

"Harry," Cisco's voice breathed out, his breath ghosting along Hartley's neck.

A noise came from deep in Harry's throat and he pulled away, looking up at Hartley with an expression of such wonder that it practically made him shake. His eyes fell behind Hartley and suddenly he was being pulled back, still straddling Harry, but now pressed against Cisco's chest, head tilted at what should've been an awkward angle as Cisco took his turn kissing him. Cisco was gentler than Harry, but no less passionate, tongues rubbing as Cisco made his claim to Hartley's mouth.

Hartley's body was already humming from the attention, and it didn't get any better when Harry slid his shirt up, bunching it up under his armpits and starting to leave long, wet kisses on his chest. Hartley groaned into Cisco's mouth, fingers squeezing into Harry's shoulders. 

He had expected them both, or at least Harry to reprimand him, but all he got was a brief scolding from Cisco, less than thirty words about disappearing without warning, and then it was done, and they were doting over him. Praising him, rewarding him for coming back to them. They looked at Hartley like he was some kind of god or angel, whispering delicate compliments and flattery, always asking permission before doing something new, even if the other one had just been doing the same thing seconds prior.

Hartley had never experienced anything like it before, and there was a tight ball of happiness that was swelling inside his chest, battling for room with all his necessary organs. 

The night ended with Hartley sandwiched between them, thoughts fuzzy and body practically vibrating with post coital pleasure. He was facing Harry, tucked under his chin, Harry's arm across his hips, resting his hand on Cisco who was pressed all along Hartley's back. Cisco's thighs were tucked under Hartley's, his arm wrapped around his stomach, keeping them pressed together, his nose in his hair. He was warm, and happy, and most importantly, safe.

  
  


The next morning he woke, wrapped up in Harry's arms. He immediately knew Cisco was gone, but he could still smell him, the light hint of motor oil and the smell of his favorite french roast that seemed to be a part of his skin now. The heat of his back told him that Cisco hadn't been gone long. In front of him, captivating his senses was Harry, nearly unbearable heat trapped between their bodies, Hartley's skin burning where it touched his. Harry smelled clean, like nice soap and some brand of aftershave. He must've taken a shower and then slipped back into bed. 

Hartley adjusted to get more comfortable, accidentally bumping his knee into Harry's in the process. Harry hummed a greeting and put his leg over Hartley's, tangling them further. Hartley just pressed his forehead into the man's chest, inhaling his body wash, some musky tone he couldn't name. It smelled nice.

"Good morning," Harry murmured, tilting his head down to press a kiss to his head.

"Morning."

Hartley pulled his eyes open and brought his head up to look at Harry. The man smiled lightly, eyes on something behind him. A second later he heard the click of a phone locking and Harry's eyes slid down to his, a hand coming up to stroke Hartley's cheek.

In the stillness of the room, he could hear the shower running across the apartment. It turned off seconds after he realized what it was. Harry's hair was still wet, little beads of water gathering at the end of a strand that was hanging down over his forehead. Hartley's eyes landed on Harry's neck, focusing in on a red mark, the faint indents of a bite mark still obvious.

_They showered together._

He brought a hand up and gently rubbed his thumb across it, feeling the bumps of the indentions, carefully pressing his thumbnail into the tender skin. Harry tensed slightly, his eyes closing. Hartley bit his lip and then took a risk, twisting slightly to lightly press his mouth to Harry's neck, over the sensitive, already abused skin. Harry's fingernails dug into his hips slightly but he didn't push away. Hartley gently pressed his teeth into the marks left by Cisco, knowing they wouldn't match up. This time a small noise, a whimper more than anything, escaped Harry's chest, dying in his throat, but Hartley still heard it. He gently kissed the tender spot and then pulled away, smirking up at Harry.

"You had Cisco freaked out," Harry said after nearly a minute of silence.

Way to ruin the mood.

"I guessed. . . By all the phone calls."

"He thought you were running from us."

"No. That wasn't it. I really did have some things to take care of. I just . . . I guess needed some time to think and decide on things."

Harry hummed in understanding.

"To be clear, if you do that again, the reaction will not be the same."

"What's that mean?" Hartley asked with a raised an eyebrow.

"It means, if you break Cisco like that again, I _will_ beat your ass, and I can _promise_ you won't enjoy it."

"I think you underestimate my kinks."

It was Harry's turn to raise an eyebrow. Hartley winked and then pushed away.

"Well, since you two have gotten showers, I guess it's my turn," he said, beginning to sit up.

Instead the door opened, being pushed open by a partially clothed Cisco Ramon. He was carefully balancing three coffee mugs. He glanced over and immediately grinned when he saw they were awake. Or rather that Hartley was awake.

"Two black coffee's?"

"Hmm, have I ever told you I love you?" Harry asked, sitting up and accepting the mugs, passing one to Hartley.

"Once or twice. Usually it's related to coffee or food, though."

Harry rolled his eyes. Cisco flicked on a lamp and then came to sit in front of them. They all sat in silence, drinking their coffee and just existing together.

This was a life Hartley could get used to.

And boy did he hope he got the chance.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, if you made it this far, thank you! I hope you enjoyed, and it wasn't too awful!
> 
> I seriously love Hartley Rathaway so much, and the idea of him and Dr. Wells having a relationship has really stuck with me recently. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!!


End file.
